Let’s learn Japanese with Giorno Giovanna’s quote from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (Jojo no Kimyou na Bouken).
CONTENTS
Video
Giorno Giovanna’s Quote
Japanese: このジョルノ・ジョバァーナには夢がある。
Romaji: kono joruno jobāna niwa yume ga aru.
English: I, Giorno Giovanna, have a dream.
Analysis
The grammar is 「A には B がある」 meaning “A has B”.
The A is このジョルノ・ジョバァーナ. この means “this” which is used to modify the following word, such as このペン meaning “this pen“, この人 meaning “this person” so このジョルノ・ジョバァーナ literally means “this Giorno Giovanna”. But when この modifies the speaker’s name or the first person pronoun such as 私, 俺, or 僕, it emphasizes that the speaker is the one which is referred to or makes it explicit. So このジョルノ・ジョバァーナ can be translated as “I, Giorno Giovanna”.
And the B is 夢 meaning “dream”, so このジョルノ・ジョバァーナには夢がある means “I, Giorno Giovanna, have a dream”.
This grammar is used for possession of something abstract or intangible which the A can naturally or instinctively have such as a dream, talent, feature, ability, and so on.
In other words, you don’t usually use this grammar for possession of something tangible that you can volitionally have such as a pen, bag, car and so on. Instead, for tangible things, you can use the grammar “A は B を持っている”. For example, 私はペンを持っている meaning “I have a pen” , 私はカバンを持っている meaning “I have a bag”.
The grammar “A は B を持っている” can also be used for intangible things, but it sounds more volitional rather than instinctive. Intangible things like a dream, talent or ability are usually things that you instinctively have so A には B がある sounds more natural.
Examples
この + First Person Pronoun (used for emphasis/explicitness)
この俺が負けるわけない！
kono ore ga makeru wake nai!
It is impossible that “I” would lose!
この私にお任せください。
kono watashi ni omakase kudasai.
Please leave it to ME.
本当に、この僕が勝ったのか…？
hontō ni kono boku ga katta noka…?
Did “I” really win…?
- It often shows the speaker’s confidence or arrogance in affirmative sentences. However it can show the speaker’s humbleness in questions like the third example (The speaker had never thought that he would win so he’s emphasising “I”, himself).
- You never use “これ” (this one) to refer to yourself.
A には B がある (A has B)
このジャケットには防水性がある。
kono jaketto niwa bōsuisei ga aru.
This jacket is waterproof (This jacket has a waterproofing feature).
彼には強い信念がある。
kare niwa tsuyoi shinnen ga aru.
He has a strong belief.
私にはそれを断る権利があります。
watashi niwa sore o kotowaru kenri ga arimasu.
I have the right to refuse it.
- “A は B がある” can also be used but “A には B がある” is more common.
- When the B is an animate thing such as a person, animal and so on, you use いる instead of ある.
山田さんには5人の子供がいる。
yamada-san niwa go-nin no kodomo ga iru.
Mr. Yamada has five children.
- A には B がある can also express existence or location. In this case, the B can be a tangible object.
ここにはたくさんの遊び場がある。
koko niwa takusan no asobiba ga aru.
There are many playgrounds here.
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